Hippie by Paulo Coelho

In Hippie, his most autobiographical novel to date, Paulo Coelho takes us back in time to re-live the dream of a generation that longed for peace and dared to challenge the established social order – authoritarian politics, conservative modes of behavior, excessive consumerism, and an unbalanced concentration of wealth and power.

Following the “three days of peace and music” at Woodstock, the 1969 gathering in Bethel, NY that would change the world forever, hippie paradises began to emerge all around the world. In the Dam Square in Amsterdam, long-haired young people wearing vibrant clothes and burning incense could be found meditating, playing music and discussing sexual liberation, the expansion of consciousness and the search for an inner truth. They were a generation refusing to live the robotic and unquestioning life that their parents had known.

At this time, Paulo is a young, skinny Brazilian with a goatee and long, flowing hair who wants to become a writer. He sets off on a journey in search of freedom and a deeper meaning for his life: first, with a girlfriend, on the famous “Death Train to Bolivia,” then on to Peru and later hitchhiking through Chile and Argentina.

His travels take him further, to the famous square in Amsterdam, where Paulo meets Karla, a Dutch woman also in her 20s. She convinces Paulo to join her on a trip to Nepal, aboard the Magic Bus that travels across Europe and Central Asia to Kathmandu. They embark on a journey in the company of fascinating fellow travelers, each of whom has a story to tell, and each of whom will undergo a transformation, changing their priorities and values, along the way. As they travel together, Paulo and Karla explore their own relationship, an awakening on every level that brings each of them to a choice and a decision that sets the course for their lives thereafter.

[Reference- https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39731666-hippie]

Disclaimer- This review is based on my personal experience reading this book, this is no way means you will most definitely feel the same. Every readers thought of train varies.

Hippie by Paulo Coelho was grounded to reality, based on his own personal experiences, Coelho takes us on a journey filled with brutal traumas and bitter sweet adventures all of them which he has lived. Who are the hippies? How did the world see it back in those days? What were their struggles and desires? This book highlights Coelho’s beginning days of exploring to be a writer, where he was naive yet still a very deep thinker. I also liked the fact that this book had a few insights on some background characters, their side of the story and why they were on this journey. His smooth writing style has always been an attraction for me. The fact that this was based on true events makes it even more lively and exciting to read.

What I Didn’t Like-

However, This book was a bit heavy to read and probably the most autobiographical book by Paulo Coelho. It felt a bit heavy on the eyes and a bit dry. The main story begins 25% in where our main characters actually cross paths. The beginning 25% is all intros on who’s and what’s which frankly, if you left chunks off wouldn’t affect your understanding of his story later on. Looking at this story personally i feel like Paulo Coelho indulges a lot in this life, his character is too attached to this world to thing beyond it. Would have loved for him to explore a bit of the vastness which is the after-life. Which he actually does talk about in most of his books, one of the main reasons I was super excited for this one too!

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